A girl stood before me.
She looked to be about middle school age. With her purple hair cut into a bob and her petite, slender frame, she could have easily passed for an elementary schooler depending on the angle.
It was our first meeting—I could say that for certain.
Her features were plain, yet they were strangely captivating, carrying an aura that ensured you wouldn't forget her once you had seen her.
"............"
"Margrave Lavender...?"
I froze at the unexpected name she had blurted out, but I quickly snapped to attention. My eyes flew open, and I instinctively pressed a hand to my chest.
"Ah... please excuse my rudeness. I am Rest Clover. Though I am young and inexperienced, I have been granted the rank of Count."
I bowed with elegant, fluid movements. It was the salute of a nobleman, one I had practiced over and over until it was etched into my muscle memory.
"It is an honor to meet the daughter of the Margrave Lavender House."
"............"
"I look forward to our future acquaintance; I hope we can get along well."
"............"
"............"
"............"
"......Um, Lady Lavender?"
I had finished the standard greeting, but no reply came. Normally, etiquette dictated that she should offer a greeting in return, but she remained silent.
"Could it be that you're feeling unwell...?"
"............Beautiful."
"Huh...?"
"Beautiful... ah, how beautiful..."
The daughter of Margrave Lavender gazed up at me with vacant, misty eyes. She looked almost intoxicated, but as I watched her, I realized her pupils were shimmering with iridescent light.
Rainbow Irises... what is with that coloration?
It wasn't just a trick of the light from the campfire. Her eyes possessed a mysterious, shifting spectrum that seemed to change every time I blinked. Staring into them made me feel as though she were peering into the very depths of my soul.
And did she just call me "beautiful"?
I wasn't ugly, but I was far from a classic beauty. I had survived enough life-or-death struggles to have a certain ruggedness born of experience, but "beautiful" was a word that had never been associated with me.
"Haa..."
"Wait—!?"
Without warning, Ulula’s body began to tilt backward. I moved to help her, but the woman standing behind her—presumably an attendant—stepped forward and caught her before she could fall.
"Please forgive us. It appears the young lady has suffered a bout of anemia," the attendant said in a flat, businesslike tone. She supported the girl's weight effortlessly. "Pray forgive our discourtesy. To the ladies of the Rosemary House as well."
"Oh, uh... yes."
"I mean, it’s fine, but..."
Viola and Primula, who hadn't even been introduced yet, looked on with bewildered expressions.
Incidentally, the woman didn't seem to notice Yuri at all. Since Yuri was a sheltered daughter herself, the attendant likely didn't recognize her as the daughter of the Marquis Catreia House.
"Well then, we shall take our leave. We will come to offer our formal greetings at a later date..."
Leaving us with those abrupt words, the attendant hoisted Ulula up and walked away.
"............"
"O-Oh...?"
Even as she was being carried off like a piece of luggage, Ulula kept her eyes locked onto me. It was an intense, piercing stare—the kind that felt like it might burn a hole right through me. She didn't look angry, but the weight of her gaze made me feel strangely uncomfortable.
"What... what was that all about?"
Once the two of them vanished into the darkness, I voiced the question we were all thinking. She had been the one to approach us, yet she’d left without ever explaining what she wanted.
The only things I knew for certain were that her name was Ulula, and that she was the daughter of the Margrave Lavender House.
And, for reasons I couldn't fathom, she was intensely interested in me.
"I didn't feel any hostility or ill intent, but she was a strange one... I couldn't tell what she was thinking at all."
"Y-Yes... I’ve never even heard that the Margrave Lavender House had a daughter around that age," Primula said, tilting her head inquisitively.
Was she a sheltered child like Yuri? Given that even the Rosemary twins didn't know of her, her existence must have been kept a secret from the rest of the nobility.
"I wonder why such a sheltered lady is out here?" Viola added, her brow furrowed with suspicion. "If she’s here, that means she’s part of the pioneer group, right?"
"Normally, a girl makes her debutante at a high-society party," Viola continued. "Some use their entrance into the Royal Academy as the occasion, but...?"
"This isn't exactly the place for it. The development of the Magical Wilds is a bit too brutal for a debutante," Yuri said nonchalantly as she kicked sand onto the campfire to bank the coals. "Well, I haven't officially debuted either, so I can't talk."
Yuri looked up at us and flashed an innocent, beaming smile.
"Anyway, she said she'd be back to greet us properly later, so we can just ask her then. More importantly... it's time for our sleepover!"
The mystery didn't seem to bother Yuri at all.
"We had that pajama party at the Rosemary mansion, but this is the first time I've ever shared a tent with my friends! And being with Rest makes it even better! Since we’re all here, why don't we sleep side-by-side?"
"......Yuri, that's out. Even as a friend, I can't let that slide."
"......The spots next to Rest-sama belong to me and my sister. It's too early for you, Yuri-san."
As Yuri dropped her bombshell with a guileless grin, the Rosemary sisters puffed out their cheeks in perfect, possessive unison.